A forumist on a Norwegian forum has asked whether anybody can identify these plants from Arizona. Pictures taken by his granddad 100 years ago:
http://www.biologforeningen.org/enbiolog/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=37042
Comments
Re: Unknown plant from Arizona
Thanks Gordon.
It looks to me to be a Cholla cactus. Given the size of the plants, possibly Opuntia fulgida, but it is hard to tell. There are several large Cholla cacti native to the region. Here's a link to check http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/may/papr/chollas.html